Ch. 2 seeks top Dahler for anchor

The station is in the final stages of hiring ABC veteran Don Dahler for a slot in its rotation, sources told the Daily News.

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Word is Dahler is being hired initially to work weekend evenings, though there has been talk of moving him into a weekday slot down the road.

What that means for Mary Calvi, who has been doing weekends solo since November, is unclear. Dahler could be paired with her, or not.

As for the weekday part of the deal, a few contracts of weekday players are up soon, so Dahler's weekend run could be short.

Dahler, a correspondent at ABC News since 1999, is expected to join the station in a matter of weeks.

Adding Dahler to the lineup would be the latest change at Ch. 2, which in the past year has overhauled its evening and noon anchor teams a couple of times, leaving only the morning anchor team of Maurice DuBois and Kate Sullivan untouched.

At ABC, Dahler has covered such stories as the war in the Serbian republic of Kosovo and the Columbine school shootings, and he was on the scene at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

Recently, Dahler tested for the morning anchor job at WABC/Ch. 7. At the time, insiders said Dahler's test with Lori Stokes was excellent.

Ken Rosato ultimately got the Ch.7 job, and now Dahler appears to have found a local slot elsewhere.

Going to CBS would be sort of a homecoming for Dahler, who early in his career was a producer for "48 Hours."

Hit the ground running

Lisa Colagrossi and Heidi Jones had fun yesterday morning at the expense of Ch. 7's Rosato, who has proven he is a way better anchor than he is a softball player.

That's because Rosato, who played on Ch. 7's team in a charity game against WPLJ radio Wednesday, fell running to first base after his first time at bat.

He fell, tumbled and got up, that is.

"That was an example of the Earth not being able to keep up with my lightning-fast feet," said Rosato, who has a small abrasion under his eye. "It was a little bruise, but more than anything my ego was so, so deflated."

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Rosato hasn't played softball in 15 years. However, he figured the laughs he generated were for a good cause.

"What's funny is I grew up listening to Scott Shannon," he said. "I was so in awe, I was terrified." His pals at 'PLJ got the clip on YouTube early yesterday.

"I was just glad they raised a lot of money," Rosato said.

"I've already gotten calls from other stations," he added. "I'll never be able to live it down."

Cho to return soon

Liz Cho is expected to return full time to the anchor desk at Ch. 7 on Sept. 4, according to Ch. 7 news director Kenny Plotnik.

Cho, who has been on maternity leave since she gave birth to a girl, Louisa Simone, in May, can be seen tomorrow at 7:30 anchoring "Sharing Our Future: Asia Society," a special on the Asia Society, a global organization focused on improving American understanding of Asia. The special is produced by Jeelu Billimoria.

It's a girl for Pineda

Ch. 7 correspondent Nina Pineda gave birth to a daughter, Tea de Soriano Kisala, Aug. 10. The tyke was two weeks overdue, and, as kids do, decided to enter the world during a heat wave and on a day when storms knocked out power to Pineda's home.

Pineda's husband is John (Hollywood) Kisala, a cameraman for the Fox News Channel.

Pineda expects to be back on the air in two to three months.

Random observations

I think it's time for the Geico lizard to go away.

Every time I see a commercial with the little critter wandering in a field raving about muffins or sitting on a stoop chatting about insurance rates, I want to see a large human foot come out of nowhere and squash him.

Perhaps, when the company wants to get rid of the icon, that's how it'll do it.